As you may have noticed over the past several years, regulations and legal obligations have increased tenfold and business owners are seeing that is more difficult to keep pace. In addition to accomplishing all of your daily revenue-producing tasks — which, let’s be honest, you probably don’t have enough hours in the day to complete to begin with — you must also stay abreast of all the changes the state and federal agencies are directing to business owners. With audits continually on the rise, non-compliance could be a very costly pitfall for your company.

In a recent article from PEO Insider, Jenny Swinterton explains that “failing to provide proper notice to [COBRA] participants” can cost you “up to $210 per day.” She goes on to say, “If just one COBRA form is not sent out and the mistake is not caught for two months, the penalty can be more than $12,000.” And that is just one small part of a multitude of forms and regulations you are required to keep up with. If you are a small business, this task can be overwhelming, but the thought of hiring new staff to handle HR issues may be out of the question for you at this time financially. Larger companies may have an HR department, but have questions when specific situations arise or an audit emerges.

This is one of the many reasons a quality PEO can be invaluable to your company and the growth of your business. ERA works closely with our clients’ HR departments to ensure each client is compliant based on their specific industry requirements. We take a proactive approach to training clients’ employees with the respective HR supervisors so noncompliance issues and accidents can be avoided from the start. If you have questions about ERA and how we can assist you in handling these daunting tasks, feel free to contact us for a meeting to find out if ERA might be a good fit for your organization.

Car accidents related to distraction due to mobile devices are on the rise and have the potential to impact employers when these accidents involve an employee and occur during working hours. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in research for www.Distraction.gov, “sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent – at 55 mph – of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.”

Regardless of whether or not the mobile device is distributed by the employer, you can still be held liable if a claim is filed as the result of an accident. ERA is taking a proactive approach by encouraging clients to update their employee handbook to include new specifications involving driving while using a mobile device during working hours. If you have questions about changing your hand book or educating your employees on driving safety, ERA would welcome the opportunity to assist you. Please find our contact information here.